What great friends I have. Really . . fantastic friends. You all know my friend, Denise. She’s the one who gets me in so much trouble. Even Vince knows that most of the time when the credit card bill is just a little too high . . . it’s Denise’s fault.

As usual I’m minding my own business, not even thinking about yarn shopping . . not thinking about much at all, in fact. I check my email and find a long one from Denise. She has put a lot of thought into this. You’d think that she thinks it’s hard to convince me to buy yarn, or take a challenge.

Her reasoning scares me. But, because I’m such a good friend, and because she seems like she really needs a partner in crime for this project, I’m going along with her. Please understand . . I’m not doing this because of a yarn sale, or because I want or need yarn . . I’m simply doing this to make Denise happy. And, I’m inviting all of you to do your part in making Denise happy!

Here’s her email . . all broken down with my response to each of her numbered items.

Denise: 1) Socktoberfest is approaching.

Me: Yes, Soctoberfest happens every October. You try to make as many socks as you can during October.

Denise: 2) the birthstone for October is an Opal.

Me: I didn’t know this simply because my birthday isn’t October and I only care about my own birthstone! But, I do love opals.

Denise: 3) Opal makes me think of Opal yarn (actually I believe I thought about the Opal yarn first and then realized it is an October birthstone)

Me: I’m wondering if Denise might not have too much time on her hands!

Denise: 4) Opal yarn made me think of the recent flyer that Simply Socks still has a bunch on sale (I did briefly think of the stuff I bought on sale from them last time and haven’t used yet but then quickly dismissed that from my mind)

Me: Exactly! All that Opal yarn I ordered last time is still sitting in the box in which it arrived.

Denise: 5) opal yarn on sale has now been purchased from Simply Socks today

Me: Yep, me too. Thanks Denise! Yesterday I looked at the yarn, put some in my cart, remembered that I had not used what I bought last time and closed it all out. Today . . a totally different end result. There’s yarn on its way to me now.

Denise: 6) see how many pairs of Opal yarn socks I can make during Socktoberfest.

Me: Sure! I can do that. I think I can make 6 pairs. I always think I can make more than I actually get made but . . you never know til you try, right?

Seriously, if you want to make socks for a gift and you aren’t sure how they will be cared for, you cannot beat Opal yarn. My Opal socks often end up in the washer and the dryer. The yarn isn’t as soft as yarns like Madelinetosh or String Theory Caper but it definitely holds up to lots of wear and abuse.

So . . anyone want to join us. Simply Sock Yarn has a good sale right now on some closeout Opal yarn, as well as some other yarns. Will you join us for our Opal Socktoberfest? You can use Opal yarn you already have too.

Accuweather, quite correctly says “blazing sunshine”. It is hot! It is a great day to open up the solar oven and load it up with an apple cobbler which should be ready about the time Vince gets home from work. Apple cobbler, Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream . . dessert before dinner. The minute he walks through the door, our weekend begins and we have reason to celebrate. Not quite sure what that reason is yet but I’m pretty sure we can find a reason. Til something better comes along, we’ll celebrate the last day of 100º+ temps! If a better reason pops up, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Grab your Kleenex . . this is a sob story if I’ve ever heard one! Here’s what’s on my needles at the moment.

At first glance, it probably looks like I’ve made a lot of progress since the picture last week . .

The yarn is Kroy Socks Jacquards by Patons. This is an inexpensive yarn that I love. I love wearing it . . it wears so well. It is 75% washable wool and 25% nylon. It’s a bit thicker than most of the yarns I use, which is good because it knits up more quickly but . . that’s where I ran into a problem. Since it’s a bit thicker yarn, I used a bit larger needle. I originally cast on 60 stitches, which is what I do with thinner yarn and smaller needles. I got down to the heel and realized that not only were the socks probably too large for Chad but there was a chance I would run out of yarn. I ripped the whole darned thing out. Are you crying yet?

I did a bit of research and decided I should cast on 48 stitches. I did that and got down to the heel and decided they were going to be too small. Are you boo-hooing like a baby now? At this point, I seriously thought about just finishing them and having myself a pair of camo socks. But then I looked online and wasn’t sure I could still get this yarn in this color so again, I ripped it all out and started over. Stop crying! People are looking at you funny!

Then I researched some more, and maybe I said a bad word . . but maybe I just thought it and didn’t really say it . . and that’s a whole lot different from really saying it!

I decided that casting on 56 stitches should work. And then I said to myself . . Seriously? What’s the difference in 60 stitches and 56 stitches? You should have just stuck with the 60 stitches and been done! Yep, that’s what I think too.

56 stitches . . come rain or shine, too large or too small . . that’s what they’re going to be. Are you kinda wishing I’d forgotten to do “What’s on the Needles?” today?